# Generating letters

**Generate Letter** on the **Jobs** screen produces a batch of letters outside the reminder
schedule. You pick a Word template and choose the recipients, and Diarybook generates a PDF for
each client and emails the letters to an address you give. It does not post them.

## Why this matters

Not every letter is tied to an appointment. A service closure, a change of venue, or a recall
for a whole client group needs the same letter sent to a defined list, once. Generating it from
Diarybook means the letters are built from the client records you already hold, clients who have
opted out of letters are left out automatically, and the job is kept as a record of who was
written to and when.

## Before you start

- You need the **Send SMS** permission. The **Generate Letter** button is not shown without it.
  See [Users and permissions](/docs/setting-up/users-and-permissions/).
- Your account needs enough balance to cover the job. Letters are priced per page, and the page
  count comes from the template.
- You need a Word template (.docx). [Merge fields](/docs/reminders/merge-fields/) in the document
  are filled in for each recipient. The template can be uploaded during the steps below, or
  beforehand on the [Files](/docs/reminders/files/) screen.

## Steps

1. Open the **Messaging** area and select **Jobs**.
2. Select **Generate Letter** on the toolbar. The **Generate Letter** window opens.
3. Under **Letter template**, select **Pick a Word Document**. The **Letter Templates** list
   shows the Word documents already on your account. Select one, or upload a new .docx file.
   The chosen file is shown under **Document Name:**.
4. Under **Choose the recipients of your letter**, type into **Search:** to find clients, groups
   or appointments, and select each one to add it. To add whole client groups, select
   **Add Groups**. Each entry is listed with its **Size**, and **Total recipients:** shows the
   running total. Select **remove** against an entry to take it off.
5. Under **Send the letters to**, enter the **Email Address:** the generated letters should go
   to. Separate several addresses with a semicolon (;).
6. Optionally, enter an **Email Subject:**. If you leave it blank, the document name is used.
7. Select **Continue**. It stays unavailable until a template, at least one recipient and a
   valid email address are in place.
8. Check the **Send** panel:
   - **Letter template:**, with the number of pages and the price per page.
   - **Total letters:** and **Total price:**.
   - **Letters sent to:**, the email address from step 5.
   - **Skipped:**, if any clients have opted out of letters.
9. Select **Send**.

Diarybook confirms that your letters have been submitted and gives the job number.

<!-- NEEDS CAPTURE: screenshot of the Generate Letter window with a template and recipients
     selected -->

## Following the job

The letter job appears in the **Jobs** list. Select it to open the job. A letter job has two
views in its side menu.

**Job Details** shows when the job was **Created**, its **Send Date**, **Status**, who it is
**From**, and the **Selection** of recipients it was built from. Under **Letters** it counts the
**Recipients**, how many **Failed**, and how many **Opted out**.

While the job is **Queued**, you can select **Pause Job**. A paused job offers **Resume Job** and
**Cancel Job**. A job can't be paused or cancelled while it is still queuing.

**Letters** lists each generated letter with its **Recipient**, **Pages**, **Status** and
**Date**. Select the PDF icon on a row to download that letter, or **Download all** to download
the whole batch as a zip file. Use the search box to find a single client's letter.

<!-- NEEDS CAPTURE: screenshot of a letter job's Letters view -->

## What to watch for

**Nothing arrives at the clients**

Diarybook emails the letters to the address you entered and stops there, as with
[Letter reminders](/docs/reminders/letter-reminders/). Someone has to print and post them. Use an
address that a person actually reads.

**The price is higher than expected**

The price is per page, and the page count comes from the template. A template that spills onto a
second page doubles the cost of every letter in the batch. Check the page count on the **Send**
panel before you select **Send**.

**Fewer letters than recipients**

Clients who have opted out of letters are skipped, and the number is shown under **Skipped:**.
See [Consent and opt-outs](/docs/clients/consent-and-opt-outs/).

**Your balance is too low**

The **Send** panel stops you with a warning and a **Fund your account here** link. Fund the
account, then send again.

**The letters have gone from the job**

Generated letters can be downloaded from the **Letters** view for 2 months. After that the
documents are removed. Download anything you need to keep before then.

**Parts of the letter come out blank**

A merge field with no value produces nothing rather than an error. Proof the first letters in the
**Letters** view against real clients before posting the batch.

## Related

- [Letter reminders](/docs/reminders/letter-reminders/)
- [Files](/docs/reminders/files/)
- [Merge fields](/docs/reminders/merge-fields/)
- [Consent and opt-outs](/docs/clients/consent-and-opt-outs/)

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Source: https://diarybook.com/docs/reminders/generating-letters/